The Highways in Japan

I am not sure people how to define the Highway. My personal understanding is just simple.

"It's ‌a city bypass and always constructed far from town or city. It connects one town to another which are distance of miles. It is wide and has several lanes so that the vehicles can drive safely and swiftly."

If you ask, "Is that all?" 

I would say, "That's all" 

According to our country's situation and my experiences that I passed through, I am not able to define more than that. It's true.

When we visited Japan, we chose to hire a private coach as our group size was medium. It can not only save our time but also our expenses. We had no plan to take the bullet train at this time due to many reasons.

It took more than 6 hours from Fuji to Kyoto even though the bullet train would take only 3 hours. But it was still a better option to visit many attraction places. 

As a writer, taking a coach along the journey is the most precious experience as I can inspire many things by learning about its environment and culture. 

Firstly, I need to break my previous vision that the Highway is always constructed on the earth's surface when I saw they built multiple layers. They are just the same as the flyovers which are normally built in the city to reduce traffic. Even if the highway we use is not on the ground, we still can find another higher layer above us at some junctions.  

I felt like we were passing through the longest bridge in the world instead we were travelling on the highway. We could see the huge wall on each side, and they were higher than the big vehicles. I thought, at first, they were solar panels. But our driver explained they are just a wall to prevent strong wind. I could understand the reasons. As they built the highway like a bridge,  they also needed to consider the wind for driving safely.  

When we passed through Nagoya City, we could have a chance to see its beauty from a distance. In that place, the walls are slightly lower than the others. Even though the wind is not so strong while passing over the city, the walls still need to be built to reduce noise for the residents. 

 

Moreover, we passed through many tunnels on the journey. I heard the longest tunnel is about 3 miles. It's wonderful. In fact, we were travelling in the air and passing through the mountain at a higher level, but we didn't feel any slop and pressure. It was still the same as travelling on the ground level. It's quite comfortable. 

Sometimes, we forget to penetrate the mountain because our mindset is always thinking about climbing. Their innovative idea and technology were truly impressive. 

Using highways and expressways is usually tedious, but now their breathtaking constructions amazed me. I felt like a villager who arrived in the city for the first time. 

Apart from the high technology in Japan, they prioritise strength and sustainability rather than stunning and they care more about safety than ease. When I noticed those facts, I removed my first expectation and was ready to accept the actual definition of the highway.

Please make sure that our environment is not destroyed by our actions.

-May Thoon Khit-